No radar return from visible aircraft

I have been trying to get my head around the F/A-18 radar.

On multiplayer, I had a boresight visual on a KC-130 with an F/A 18 in tow at about 5 miles, but could not get a return from them on the radar in scan mode.

I guess there are 3 possible reasons:

1) They were running some sort of countermeasures (if so how is this set in the mission editor?)

2) I wasn't operating the radar correctly.

3) The simulation is not working correctly.

Which is it?

Thanks

Oftentimes radar elevation. Might be stuck looking up or down.

Radar elevation is still quirky to me. Either positive 99 or negative 0.

Check with the radar elevation

I did check that. Radar was in default mode and was doing the six step elevation.

I will try again and ensure elevation is working.

I'll set up a mission with targets at different altitudes and see how that works.

Probably 2 - the radar beam gets narrower the closer to you it is (so a beam that covers 0ft to 50kft at 40nm might only be covering 23kft to 25kft at 2nm) and so you have to work a lot harder to set your radar to scan specific areas - which is partly why you've got ACM modes to make it easier to lock something up that you can actually see out the window. You probably needed to adjust your scan parameters - i.e. if you pointed your nose at them and set your radar to 6 bar 20 deg, and made sure your radar elevation was roughly right, it would have scanned a tall but narrow rectangle of the sky in front of you and you probably would have picked them up.

The top and bottom numbers on the TDC are your friend. As you bring it down on the DDI (closer) the numbers change, as they do based on the number of bars, or the elevation of the plate changes. There are at least three elements at play.

Probably 2 - the radar beam gets narrower the closer to you it is (so a beam that covers 0ft to 50kft at 40nm might only be covering 23kft to 25kft at 2nm) and so you have to work a lot harder to set your radar to scan specific areas - which is partly why you've got ACM modes to make it easier to lock something up that you can actually see out the window. You probably needed to adjust your scan parameters - i.e. if you pointed your nose at them and set your radar to 6 bar 20 deg, and made sure your radar elevation was roughly right, it would have scanned a tall but narrow rectangle of the sky in front of you and you probably would have picked them up.

Did you press SIL before entering boresight?

I have had this happen to me as well, but most of the time I do see the aircraft on the radar. Sometimes I clearly see the aircraft in front of me and nothing on radar.

Try WACQ just as a test when they're that close to you...currently, it has autolocked contacts that are in front of me and in close range....for me, it's "Castle" switch left when in AA mode

If you have a visual, press up on the sensor control switch for boresight ACM. Put the target inside the circle for a lock. RWS isn’t really useful at ranges less than 10mi. That’s what the ACM modes are meant for.

If you have a visual, press up on the sensor control switch for boresight ACM. Put the target inside the circle for a lock. RWS isn’t really useful at ranges less than 10mi. That’s what the ACM modes are meant for.

...and ACM mode seems to be the default mode when selecting any a2a weapon from what I've seen...strangely, I have gone from NAV to AA (by way of selecting a missile) and have 90% of the time been in ACM mode...however, there have been a few times that going to a missile, kept me in RWS mode....I'll try to make a track

Edit: Ok, simple a2a mission shows how going from NAV to AA and back gives random radar modes once selected look at the yellow cross circling the submode

A2A_Practice_AIM120C_1.trk

I would expect boresight ACM if selecting a missile in NAV mode. This implies a worst case, where time is critical and you need a weapon coming off the rail ASAP.

The fact that it's random is kinda strange... is it cycling every time...? Could be broken logic.

I have been trying to get my head around the F/A-18 radar.

On multiplayer, I had a boresight visual on a KC-130 with an F/A 18 in tow at about 5 miles, but could not get a return from them on the radar in scan mode.

I guess there are 3 possible reasons:

1) They were running some sort of countermeasures (if so how is this set in the mission editor?)

2) I wasn't operating the radar correctly.

3) The simulation is not working correctly.

 

Which is it?

Thanks

Depending on the setup at the time...

4) Insufficient closure rate between you and the target.